Every parent (to include me) has heard their kids say – with the incredible freedom of summer all around – “I’m bored!” As a life and executive coach, I find that every summer I am asked by my clients who are parents to tell them what they should do to keep their kids active, engaged and not bored during the greatest three months of the year (for kids).
You know how it works. Your children are excited about the upcoming summer as the school year comes to a close. Then, for the first week or so they are all fired up and balls of energy. Then, they run out of energy and things to do. And you hear, “I’m bored,” and “What should I do?” Your summer has just turned ugly.
First of all, let me say that it is easy for kids to get bored during the summer because they have so much freedom. But childhood freedom often becomes the strongest of all chains; a slave master who uses mind-numbing boredom as punishment. My belief and study has shown that kids do not need unfettered freedom. Kids need structure in order to grow and feel fulfilled.
Here’s my simple 3-step process for eliminating your child’s boredom during the summer months.
Step 1
You should sit down with your kids before the school-is-out-for-the-summer season hits and write a list of their GOALS for the summer. Setting goals is the most important step you can take to keep your child from getting bored during the summer. Ask your kid these questions (and have them write down the answers):
– What new sports do you want to learn?
– What new challenges do you want to tackle?
– What new books do you want to read?
– What new sights do you want to see?
– What new skills do you want to learn?
– What area(s) do you want to improve in?
Step 2
Next – using the goals as your guide, you and your kid(s) should write out a week-by-week schedule of summer activities for them. (I actually recommend you have the entire summer scheduled out day-by-day, but let me allow you to ease into this.)
Step 3
Then, follow the schedule.
My kids have not uttered the phrase, “I’m bored,” since I began this approach to their summers. They are too busy, engaged and happy to be bored! And yours will be as well. And I know that your kids and mine will look back someday (as we parents do) and say how great this or that summer was because of what they did.
To help you get rolling, I am providing you (below) a list of 301 things that your kid can do during the summer. Many of these are low cost or no cost. This list makes sure that no kid need ever be bored.
The following list of 301 activities will help your kid, your family, and you take full advantage of the warm weather season and spark the creativity that makes summer the best time of the year! Your kid can look over the list and choose any activities they are interested in and get started. Some of my suggested activities require parental permission, but most are suitable for your kids to complete on their own.
301 THINGS YOUR KID CAN DO DURING THE SUMMER
1 Act in a play
2 Adopt a pet
3 Attend a concert
4 Bake cookies
5 Barbecue shrimp
6 Become a model
7 Become a photographer
8 Become an expert cupcake, cookie or brownie baker. Give them a funky name and sell them. That’s how Wally ‘Famous Amos’ got started
9 Become an expert on something. Choose a topic you interested in and study it a little everyday. By the end of the summer, you’ll be one of the leading experts
10 Blow up balloons and give them to your friends and family
11 Build a sandcastle
12 Build a tree house
13 Build an electric train model
14 Build your own plane from a kit
15 Buy a DVD projector and host a movie that you project on the side of your house at night
16 Call a president of a large company and interview him/her about what they do
17 Check out the stars with a telescope
18 Clean up a nature trail
19 Clean your room!
20 Climb a tree
21 Collect sea shells from the seashore
22 Cook something you’ve never cooked before
23 Cook your breakfast on an outdoor fire
24 Create a family photo album of summer activities
25 Create a terrarium
26 Create a treasure hunt
27 Create a web site
28 Create your own holiday – a Festivus-for-the-Rest-of-Us
29 Create your own science club with friends
30 Design a new clothing line
31 Determine 10 goals you have for your life.
32 Dig for fossils
33 Do 25 jumping jacks each day
34 Donate some of the toys and clothes you no longer use
35 Draw a self-portrait
36 E-mail a friend you haven’t spoken to in awhile.
37 Send your question about life success and life’s challenges to us.
38 Enter a chili cooking contest (or host your own)
39 Find a new favorite author or book
40 Find a pen-pal
41 Find the cheapest flight you can to a foreign country and go on a vacation
42 Fly a kite
43 Get a job as a lifeguard at the local pool
44 Get a job or an internship.
45 Get a ride on a paddle wheeler
46 Get a summer job with a friend
47 Get a temporary tattoo
48 Get in better shape! Exercise everyday
49 Get in touch with a cousin you’ve never met
50 Give your dog a bath.
51 Go backpacking
52 Go beachcombing for driftwood, shells and stones
53 Go birdwatching
54 Go boating
55 Go bowling
56 Go camping in a national park
57 Go camping in your backyard
58 Go camping on the beach
59 Go canoeing
60 Go deep sea diving
61 Go explore caves
62 Go fishing
63 Go for a hike
64 Go go-karting
65 Go hunting
66 Go on a boat ride
67 Go on a glass-bottom boat ride
68 Go on a hayride
69 Go on a long bike ride
70 Go on a rollercoaster ride
71 Go on a walk and take pictures of trees, flowers, dogs, etc.
72 Go out for lunch with one of your parents
73 Go outside and find 20 different kinds of flowers
74 Go paddle boating
75 Go parachuting
76 Go prospect for gold
77 Go river rafting
78 Go sailing
79 Go swimming
80 Go to a baseball game
81 Go to a camp
82 Go to a museum
83 Go to a national park
84 Go to a new restaurant
85 Go to a party
86 Go to a pre-season practice being held by your local pro team
87 Go to a science camp
88 Go to a Shakespeare festival
89 Go to a waterslide park
90 Go to an amusement park
91 Go to an antiques show
92 Go to an opera
93 Go to the fair
94 Go to the movies with friends
95 Go to the movies with your siblings.
96 Go to the playground and swing or play on the monkey bars
97 Go to the top of the tallest building in the nearest big city
98 Go to work with your parents and observe
99 Go vegetarian for a week
100 Go whale watching
101 Go window-shopping at the most expensive stores with a friend
102 Go without email for a day
103 Go without TV for a day
104 Hang a bird feeder
105 Have a bonfire and roast marshmallows
106 Have a bubblegum blowing contest
107 Have a ‘classic movie’ night with friends
108 Have a family game night
109 Have a paper airplane contest
110 Have a picnic
111 Have a sleepover with your best friends
112 Help an elderly person with house or yard work
113 Hike to a waterfall
114 Host a 24 hour soccer game for charity or just for fun
115 Host a 5k race to benefit charity
116 Host a dance and you be the DJ
117 Host a real clambake
118 Host a scavenger hunt in the neighborhood or with friends at a park
119 Host a water balloon fight
120 Host a yard sale
121 Increase your vocabulary. Learn 5 new words each day from the dictionary
122 Invent a new dance
123 Invent your own board game
124 Invite friends over and have a tea sandwich party
125 Keep a journal of what you do during the Summer
126 Learn a foreign language
127 Learn a martial art
128 Learn a new card game and play it a lot
129 Learn about fireworks
130 Learn CPR
131 Learn how to be a comedian
132 Learn how to make balloon animals
133 Learn how to make crafts
134 Learn how to make jewelry
135 Learn how to make sushi
136 Learn how to play chess
137 Learn how to play the conga drums
138 Learn how to play the guitar
139 Learn how to rappel down mountains
140 Learn how to refinish antique furniture
141 Learn how to sail
142 Learn how to sew
143 Learn how to sew or knit
144 Learn how to snorkel
145 Learn how to swim
146 Learn how to throw a boomerang
147 Learn or teach a new sport with someone
148 Learn origami
149 Learn some new outdoor games
150 Learn to how to paint
151 Learn to windsurf
152 Listen to a motivational audio program
153 Look for sand dollars and shells at a beach
154 Make a bird feeder
155 Make a collage from magazine photos and words
156 Make a delicious ice cream float
157 Make a fire plan for your home
158 Make a new kind of sandwich
159 Make a scrapbook of everything you do this summer
160 Make a scrapbook of your baby pictures.
161 Make a smoothie so tasty it makes your toes curl!
162 Make a time capsule and bury it in your backyard
163 Make an obstacle course in your back yard
164 Make dinner for your family
165 Make homemade fruit juice.
166 Make homemade ice cream
167 Make popsicles in your freezer.
168 Make purses and sell them
169 Make something from recyclables
170 Make the world’s best root beer float.
171 Open a savings account at your bank
172 Organize a bike safety clinic
173 Organize a scavenger hunt
174 Paint your family
175 Plan a trip to Disney World
176 Plan the vacation you want to take next summer.
177 Plant flowers in your yard.
178 Play a computer game
179 Play backgammon
180 Play badminton
181 Play croquet
182 Play crossword puzzles
183 Play in a summer sports league
184 Play monopoly
185 Play pool
186 Play pool volleyball
187 Play putt-putt golf
188 Play soccer
189 Play Twister
190 Play volleyball
191 Play Wii
192 Play with the family pet
193 Play with your siblings
194 Produce and direct your own movie
195 Put up a basketball hoop in your driveway
196 Read 25 (or 50 or more) books this Summer
197 Read a book about a famous super-achiever
198 Read a book based on a movie you have seen
199 Read a story to someone
200 Read the newspaper (your favorite parts) everyday
201 Recycle bottles and donate the money to a local charity
202 Re-decorate your room
203 Rent a bicycle-built-for-two and go for a ride with a friend or family member
204 Rent a houseboat
205 Research your family tree
206 Ride a mechanical bull
207 Ride a rollercoaster
208 Ride every ride at the carnival
209 Ride on a train
210 Roast marshmallows
211 Set up a lemonade stand
212 Share your favorite DVD with a friend
213 Shoot 100 free throws
214 Show off your green thumb! Buy some flower seeds and plant them in your own garden
215 Sign up at your local library for their summer great books reading program
216 Spend time with your grandparents
217 Start a babysitting business
218 Start a band
219 Start a blog
220 Start a business
221 Start a collection of something you find interesting
222 Start a diary and write in it everyday.
223 Start a dog pooper-scooper business
224 Start a dog-walking business
225 Start a grocery shopping business
226 Start a herb garden
227 Start a lawn care business
228 Start a magazine for kids your age
229 Start a snow-removal business. (Send out flyers now so everyone remembers when the winter season comes)
230 Start a tutoring business
231 Start a yard cleaning business
232 Start an errand running business
233 Start an internet based business
234 Start an investing club with your friends. Buy stock. Sell stock. Make money!
235 Start practicing to become an Olympic Athlete
236 Start saving for a trip to Europe (or Canada, Hawaii, Alaska, Japan,… ) next Summer
237 Start your own soccer camp
238 Stay at a Dude Ranch
239 Stay in a hostel
240 Stay up and watch the shows that air from midnight to 7am
241 Study a school subject during the Summer
242 Subscribe to a new magazine
243 Swim with dolphins
244 Swim with stingrays
245 Take a boat ride
246 Take a course on mountaineering
247 Take a dance class
248 Take a family vacations
249 Take a first aid class
250 Take a helicopter ride
251 Take a jeep tour in the wilds of Arizona or New Mexico
252 Take a math class
253 Take a ride on a dinner train
254 Take a singing class
255 Take a trip in an RV
256 Take a vacation on a cruise ship
257 Take a walk and listen to the sounds of nature
258 Take a yoga class
259 Take an orienteering class
260 Take flying lessons
261 Take Pictures of interesting buildings, homes, birds, trees, waterways, cars, roads…
262 Take up golfing
263 Take up trampoline jumping
264 Take your dog for a walk.
265 Take your dog to dog-obedience school
266 Tale a class on animation
267 Teach your grandparents to use email
268 Throw a cultural heritage party in your neighborhood
269 Tie-Dye a t-shirt
270 Track the moon phases
271 Train for running your first marathon
272 Try to break a Guinness Book of World Records record
273 Use a compass or GPS to map your neighborhood
274 Visit a farm
275 Visit a National Park
276 Visit a tourist spot near your city
277 Visit every professional baseball or football stadium in the country
278 Visit Mt. Rushmore
279 Visit the aquarium
280 Visit the desert
281 Visit the Grand Canyon
282 Visit the Great Wall of China
283 Visit the Rocky Mountains
284 Visit the zoo
285 Visit Washington, DC
286 Visit the U.S. service academies (West Point, Annapolis, Air Force Academy, Coast Guard Academy… )
287 Volunteer at a local nursing home
288 Watch a cricket match
289 Watch a favorite TV show with your friends
290 Write a book
291 Write a comedy TV show
292 Write a fairy tale
293 Write a letter to your best friend
294 Write a letter to your grandparents telling them how much you love them
295 Write a list of the 10 most important questions you want to ask you grandparents. Then ask them the questions
296 Write a list of the 10 most important questions you want to ask you parents. Then ask them the questions
297 Write a play and get your friends to act it out
298 Write a poem
299 Write a song
300 Write a speech on something you find interesting
301 Write letters on airplane air-sickness bags and mail them to your friends
Summer Fun
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